Hi,

I thought you might be interested in reading about our new project management tool for Microsoft Outlook that was recently reviewed by an independent blogger. More information can be found here: http://www.genuinecuriosity.com/genuinecuriosity/2009/07/a-new-option-for-project-management-in-outlook.html

Kevin

Kevin,

Your product has peaked my interest. My employer is in the process of converting from GroupWise to Outlook, and I am not scheduled for the conversion until September. I do not know if there are competing products out there, but I could really use something to help me tame the vast number of messages and documents that circulate when my projects are in an active phase. And, as I am in the process of updating my personal machines, I have not installed the new version of Outlook at home either, so I am not in a position to trial the software. Can you tell me what happens to the data/files/messages when your software is uninstalled? I am not certain how our IT people would take to an "add-on", but I guess that would depend on how it interacts with Outlook. Any information would be most helpful.

--Ken

Ken

If you are in the market for appropriate Outlook add-ins, may I recommend Clear Context. http://www.clearcontext.com/

I couldn't live without it. The task management in particular is excellent.

Jack

Jack Crawford wrote:

Ken

If you are in the market for appropriate Outlook add-ins, may I recommend Clear
Context. http://www.clearcontext.com/

I couldn't live without it. The task
management in particular is excellent.

Jack

Jack,

I searched after I posted and saw your post. This program looks interesting as well. My biggest challenge will most likely be our IT staff. I work in municipal government, and we are limited as to what can be installed on our machines.

--Ken

I searched after I posted and saw your post. This
program looks interesting as well. My biggest challenge will most likely be our IT
staff. I work in municipal government, and we are limited as to what can be installed on
our machines.

Ken

I'm in exactly the same situation. You can install Clear Context without administrator rights.

Jack

Jack Crawford wrote:

Ken

I'm in exactly the same situation. You can install Clear Context
without administrator rights.

Jack

:)

Jack,

Would the program interfer with how Outlook messages are archived? If I uninstall the program, what information would I lose?

--Ken

Jack,

I looked at their supprot forum, and it seems there were a number of people having problems uninstalling the program, and that the program was also causing problems with Outlook and PC performance. Oner poster had installed the program at work, without permission, and it was causing all kinds of problems. Have you used this program extensively? And, have you had any problems?

--Ken

Ken,

I use ClearContext fairly extensively at work. I started using it about 5 months ago. I used the pro version until the trial ran out, and now I use the free version. The free version is mostly useful for quickly keeping my inbox clean. The pro version adds some task organization features and automatic categorization of inbox messages. I like the auto-categorization, so I may pony up for the pro version soon.

To answer your questions: Yes, ClearContext causes Outlook performance problems. Mainly, startup is slower, and clicking on a message in the inbox sometimes takes a while. I recently switched to cached exchange mode, which seemed to speed up the latter problem, but not completely. I have not noticed any Windows-wide slowdown, just Outlook. The problems are obviously not severe enough to stop me from using ClearContext.

Regarding losing data if uninstalled: ClearContext has its own fields that it adds to Outlook, and I assume that you might lose this data if you uninstall, but I don't see why you'd lose anything else.

Re instability in Outlook: I haven't seen any examples of crashes or problems. If you uninstall, it could be that some references to ClearContext's custom forms might not get cleaned up, which could cause intermittent but not fatal issues.

Thank you for the feedback. I am looking forward to the switch to Outlook (and am hoping they will also install OneNote since we have Office 2007, and I believe that it was included in most of the suite versions). I'll probably need to hold off on plug-ins for a bit though. I just saw another review for the program referenced by the OP. While it was not completely negative, it was not a glowing review either. In the meantime, I am drowning in e-mail messages and attachments!

--Ken

Ken

Just to add to the Dan's comments above.

I've used the program intensively for two years at work in an email heavy environment (100+ per day). I've never had a crash or any instability. Outlook startup is slower but that may also be because I load a large PST file stored on an external drive. Outlook performance generally is perfectly acceptable in a networked environment.

I've never had to uninstall the program so can't comment on the issues reported. I tested ClearContext on my personal laptop to evaluate it and before installing on my work PC. Once I purchased it, I have stuck with it. I also haven't installed some of the latest upgrades.

The killer features for me are the one-button creation of tasks and meetings from email. To add icing to the cake, I use the program predominantly as recommended by Michael Linenberger. He has written the best book on the market on how to use Outlook (with Clear Context as a bonus). Buying the book is money well spent if you live inside your email program at work.

www.amazon.com/Total-Workday-Control-Microsoft-Outlook/dp/0974930423/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248484504&sr=8-1

Jack

I tried ClearContext, both Personal and Pro versions, some months ago. I was not impressed by that time. But now, encouraged by posts in this topic, I've tried using it again. I'm now using Personal version for 3 days and -- I have to say it -- I'm really suprised.
My daily routine is based in Outlook, and I use it to manage several little projects. As these projects are based in folders, ClearContext capability of creating categories and "learning" where to file related messages is saving me several hours a day.
I then use this categorizations to search any messages using Copernic Search (old free and good version) whenever is necessary.
ClearContext dashboard is a time-saving too, as it gives me a brief view of pending tasks and appointments.
In summary, ClearContext has the features I am searching for for months
A great tool, and for free!

I have been using Clearcontext for some time now, and I can heartily recommend it. I used to file my emails on a month by month basis, but since getting Clearcontext, I have been using the ability to tag emails, tasks and appointments with Clearcontext topics. Then, when I clean out my emails from the inbox, all I have to do is click on the file message button, and they all go magically into the appropriate folders. Each project is a different topic. Having several different projects running at one time, the Dashboard is very useful to filter out everything that doesn't relate to the project on which I am focusing. I highly recommend this add-in. My one complaint is that you can't set up the Dashboard with your different topics/projects and have it remain. You have to re-setup the Dashboard each time you restart Outlook. Not a big issue, but a minor irritation.

Jim

Kevin:

I am interested in your add-in, but I have a couple of questions. First, does it work with Outlook 2003? The screenshots all look like Outlook 2007. Second, can it be used with Clearcontext? I can't get by without Clearcontext.

Jim